Van Gaal Praises First-half Performance At Anfield

Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United played Liverpool "off the pitch" during the first half of Sunday’s excellent 2-1 victory at Anfield.

The Reds produced a commanding display in the opening 45 minutes and moved the ball around with great intent, particularly in the midfield area, which ultimately led to Juan Mata opening the scoring with an impressive finish past Simon Mignolet on 14 minutes.

Steven Gerrard was shown a straight red card at the start of the second half and United took advantage when Mata bagged his second on 59 minutes. Although Liverpool were down to 10 men, the hosts were galvanised and soon hit back through Daniel Sturridge.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, van Gaal paid tribute to his side’s first-half display and claimed Gerrard’s dismissal was actually detrimental to United.

“The first half was very good because I knew in advance that Liverpool would press us and they did, but we played them off the pitch in the first half,” the boss told reporters. “We scored a fantastic goal and we gave nothing away, so it was a superb first-half.

"So, I went in the dressing room and I gave all my compliments because I am so happy that I can give my compliments again. Then, in the second half, everything changed because of the red card. Then we are not playing like a team, we are running with the ball, unnecessary losses of the ball, we don’t press the opponent with the ball and that was different in the first half, so that was not so good in the second half.”